Anybody crossing the scenic backroad at South Hill, overlooking Road Bay, cannot escape notice of an inviting vegetable farm, cultivated and managed by Mrs. Vina Telemaque and her fifth form son, Abiel Telemaque.
They are suppliers of quality produce to recipients such as supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and individuals, including nearby villa owners and residents on the brink of the hill. The farm is a welcome supply outlet in a well-populated and travelled area.
Mrs. Telemaque told this exemplary story of self-help and industry to The Anguillian newspaper: “I have been living in Anguilla for three years now, but we (my family) have been in Anguilla before. We went home and came back in 2015. We were living in The Valley, then at Rey Hill after the hurricane of September 2017. The house we were at in Rey Hill was damaged and we moved here, at South Hill, in October after the storm.
“We had a farm on a small scale at Rey Hill, but it is now on a bigger sale. We have romaine lettuce, butter crunch, black seed, tomatoes, seasoning peppers, green onions, chives, spinach – and we have just started some cucumbers and melons.
“We sell our produce mostly to the hotels, restaurants, supermarkets including Ashley’s & Sons. The sales are going well although I still need more sales – but when the other hotels open I will try to make contact with them.”
Mrs. Telemaque went on: “I decided to start the farm in June last year. I was a Teacher at St. Mary’s Preschool and my daughter, Chrisel Telemaque, got a scholarship to go away to study but, as a result of not enough finances from the preschool, I was unable to start off her studies. I decided to send in my resignation in June and I went home to seek help from the Government of Dominica but, because of the space of time, we were unable to get any funding so I decided to start the farm. It is helping me to pay some of my daughters’ [other] fees. She has just turned 20 and is in Pennsylvania. She actually got a scholarship when Lincoln University was giving scholarships to five Anguillians. She was one of the successful students and is majoring in Biology because she wants to be a paediatrician.”
Weather conditions have been extremely dry for some time now in Anguilla, but Mrs. Telemaque told how she managed to keep her farm ever so green and thriving. “I live to the front of the house, and the farm is at the back, and every day it is actually my job to take care of it,” she explained. “I have been using the water in my cistern but today [Friday, March 23], we were just connected to the public water supply. There has been no rain and the water in our cistern was getting low so we applied for a connection.”
Appropriate netting for agricultural covering for sensitive vegetable plants is being used by Mrs. Telemaque for protection against the direct of rays of the sun.
The nutrients for her farm come from manure supplied by Mr. Quincy Gumbs, from his goat farm, and the vegetables are chemically free. Any treatment for pests is either done by biological agencies or painstakingly removed by hand.
Mrs. Telemaque is finding much pleasure and reasonable financial gain from her vegetable farm where harvesting and replanting are regular occurrences. For her, the farm is both a good substitute and a relief for her from teaching. She has altogether had a long career as a preschool teacher for 30 years in Dominica and Anguilla. Her husband, Mr. Leonard Telemaque, is a Teacher at the Morris Vanterpool Primary School.
